Kinara - Newtownabbey

We had a great thrum with the buildup to my cousins 16th birthday. Heard nothing but glowing reports of the restaurant and service as family have been eating there for 12/13 years. Me and my missus were first to arrive, told at the door there was no booking with our name and it might be the Indian up the street. Called family organiser who confirmed I was in right place and had email (or Facebook) confirmation of reservation. Scramble to arrange tables in private function room when rest of family arrived, a large group of people standing in the cold. Drinks service for 15 people took 35 minutes, we brought our own alcohol, so that was for soft drinks and glasses. Waited further 10 minutes for order to be taken. Around 30 minutes on starters, they were tasty enough. 30 more minutes before someone cleared starters. Had lady serving soft drinks who made a point of saying I don 't even work here . 45 minute wait and plates came out for the main course, they were warm. 25 minute further wait for main courses to arrive plates and food was freezing by then. Not everything arrived. Young server with nose piercing had been doing his absolute best, serving a big party mostly alone, running the food and dealing with other customers. I 'm an area manager within the hospitality sector at present, there 's so much more I could say but keeping it simple, the young lad done his best under the circumstances. Family members who were familiar with the staff and restaurant asked to speak with the owner. He refused to come out of the kitchen and speak with said family members, telling the same young lad to come out, deal with us and offer a 15% discount. Appallingly unacceptable. The food smelt gorgeous, it was just a shame that every dish on the table was stone cold and half arrived. We went back to the 16th birthday 's house and ordered pizzas. Brought stress and upset to not only the family and the birthday boy, but the young server was clearly taking it personal as he felt he let us down young man you did not let us down, you were let down by the owner of that restaurant and done the best under the circumstances you were given. It won 't be any time soon, though I do wish to eventually try this Biryani I 've heard so much about. Pity.

Sorry for writing this but have been going here for around 12 years and have enjoyed it with no real issues apart from tonight. 16th party booked and confirmed for tonight. Nope they didn’t have booking. Ok they said they could do it, nope long waits and wrong starters. Then a long wait for mains which I’m sorry to say cold. So wrong on every level. Now sitting eating dominoes pizza which is not what everyone wanted. When an owner refuses to come out and speak and leaves his young staff to deal says it all. We may forgive soon but need time.

I ordered over the phone for me and my husband. We waited an hour and phoned back as the food never came. We live in Carrickfergus and I asked when I ordered whether this could be delivered and they said yes. When I phoned back they said the driver sat outside the house and no one answered. He clearly didn’t come to our house as the house is small, only we live there and we were sitting in the front room the whole night. So if someone came to the door we would have heard. I said that I gave my number and no one phoned me. They said they phoned 3 times and there was no answer which was true. I said no one had phoned me and he just said deliveries were done for the night. That’s ridiculous because we sat waiting for food for over an hour and when they realised they had been at the wrong house they should have honoured the commitment. I honestly believe they felt it wasn’t worth their while. We also had to phone 5 times before they even answered. Wouldn’t recommend if this is how they treat their customers

I have had some of the best Lamb Bhonas iv tasted here. I told them how i wanted it. Small cuts lamb. Very happy with food and the service.

If this had been a cheap and cheerful greasy spoon I would have taken a breath and tried to give it a three stars average score However the Kinara isn't cheap, so no excuse for poor food or service. We ordered 3 kebabs this evening and my chicken tikka was as dry as Hector. Unfortunately I could not resolve it by topping it up with the house sauce which I had ordered, as they had only put one tiny pot in our order of three, obviously forgetting the other 2. I managed to salvage it somewhat by rooting in my cupboard and using some of my own sauces but even at that, I only managed to eat a third of it. Maybe it was just an unlucky night, and I don't mind paying a fair price for good food, but this was a disappointment.